Chapter IV

Ravenshoe bay again. Sunlight on the waters; clear blue sky; all nature smiling serenely; Charles Ravenshoe--I adore the man when I think of him--landing a forty-four-pound salmon; ruddy with health, joyous in countenance; two curly-headed boys screaming for joy; his wife, 'she that was' (Americanism picked up among Yorkshiremen in Australia) Mary Corby, laughing heartily at the _tout ensemble_. William Ravenshoe affectionately helping Charles with a landing-net to secure the salmon, thus speaks to him:

'Charles, this idea of yours of dividing the 'state evenly between us is noble, but I shall not accept it. I would like a small piece of the tail of this salmon for dinner, though, if it will not rob you.'

'William, halves in every thing between us is my motto; so say no more about it. The delightful news that Father Macksham has at last fallen a victim to his love of gain, while trying to run a cargo of cannons, powder, and Enfield rifles to the confederate States, IN DIRECT OPPOSITION TO HER BLESSED MAJESTY'S COMMANDS, rejoices my heart to that extent that I exclaim, perish all Jesuits! Now that you have turned Protestant, and are thoroughly out of the woods of medieval romance, I may say,

'The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold,'

and quote Tennyson, like poor Cuthbert, all day long. Who is there to hinder?'

'No one,' replied William, with all the warmth of heart of a man who was once a groom and then a bridegroom. 'No one. I saw Adelaide this morning a-carrying flannels and rum to the poor of the parish; how thoroughly she has reformed, I'm sure.'

* * * * *

Reader, let us pause here and dwell on the respective merits of the Bohemian Girl, and Father Rodin in the _Mysteries of Paris_, compared with the characters described in _Ravenshoe_. Let us ask if an English novel can be written without allusion to the Derby or Life at Oxford, the accumulation of pounds or the squandering of pounds, rightful heirs or wrongful heirs, false marriages, or the actions of spoiled children generally? An answer is looked for.

* * * * *

'And further this deponent sayeth not.'

* * * * *

The Nashville _Union_--the new Union newspaper of that city--is emphatically 'an institution,' and a dashing one at that. Its every column is like the charge of a column of infantry into the unhallowed Rebel-ry of Disunion. 'Don't compromise your loyalty with rebels,' says the _Union_, 'until you are ready to compromise your soul with the devil.'

Some of the humor of this brave pioneer sheet is decidedly piquant. Among its quizzical literary efforts the review of Rev. Dr. McFerrin's _Confederate Primer_ is good enough to form the initial of a series. We make the following extracts:

'Nothing is more worthy of being perpetuated than valuable
contributions to literature. The literature of a nation is its
crown of glory, whose reflected light shines far down the
swift-rolling waves of time and gladdens the eyes of remote
generations. This beautiful and--to our notion--finely-expressed
sentiment was suggested to our mind in turning over the pages of
Rev. Dr. McFerrin's _Confederate Primer_, which we briefly noticed
yesterday. We feel that we then passed too hastily over a work so
grand in its conception.... The _Primer_, after giving the alphabet
in due form, offers some little rhymes for youngsters, which are
perfect nosegays of sentiment, of which the following will serve
as samples:

N.

At Nashville's fall
We sinned all.

T.

At Number Ten
We sinned again.

F.

Thy purse to mend,
Old Floyd, attend.

L.

Abe Lincoln bold,
Our ports doth hold.

D.

Jeff Davis tells a lie,
And so must you and I.

I.

Isham doth mourn
His case forlorn.

P.

Brave Pillow's flight
Is out of sight.

B.

Buell doth play,
And after slay.

O.

Yon Oak will be the gallows-tree
Of Richmond's fallen majesty.

Governor Ishain Harris 'catches it' in the following extract from the Easy Reading Lessons for Children:

'LESSON FIRST.

'THE SMART DIX-IE BOY.

'Once there was a lit-tle boy, on-ly four years old. His name was
Dix-ie. His fa-ther's name was I-sham, and his moth-er's name was
All-sham. Dix-ie was ver-y smart, He could drink whis-ky, fight
chick-ens, play po-ker, and cuss his moth-er. When he was on-ly two
years old, he could steal su-gar, hook pre-serves, drown kit-tens,
and tell lies like a man. By and by Dix-ie died, and went to the
bad place. But the dev-il would not let Dix-ie stay there, for he
said: 'When you get big, Dix-ie, you would be head-devil yourself.'
All little Reb-els ought to be like Dix-ie, and so they will, if
they will stud-y the _Con-fed-e-rate Prim-er_.'

Very good, too, is the powerful and thrilling sermon on the 'Curse of Cowardice,' delivered by the Rev. Dr. Meroz Armageddon Baldwin, from which we take 'the annexed:'

'Then there is Gideon Pillow, who has undertaken a contract for
digging that 'last ditch,' of which you have heard so much. I am
afraid that the white 'feathers will fly' whenever _that_ Case is
opened, and that Pillow will give us the slip. 'The sword of the
Lord' isn't 'the sword of Gideon' Pillow--_that's_ certain--so I
shall bolster him up no longer. Gideon is 'a cuss,' and a 'cuss of
cowardice.''

We are glad to see that the good cause has so stalwart and keen a defender in Tennessee.

* * * * *

We have our opinion that the following anecdote is true. If not, it is 'well found'--or founded.

Not long since, an eminent 'Conserve' of Boston was arguing with a certain eminent official in Washington, drilling away, of course, on the old pro-slavery, pro-Southern, pro-give-it-up platform.

'But what _can_ you do with the Southerners?' he remarked, for 'the frequenth' time. 'You can't conquer them--you can't reconcile them--you can't bring them back--you can't do any thing with them.'

'But we may _annihilate_ them,' was the crushing reply.

And CONSERVE took his hat and departed.

It is, when we come to facts, really remarkable that it has not occurred to the world that there _can_ be but one solution to a dispute which has gone so far. _There is no stopping this war._ Secession is an impossibility. If we _willed_ it, we could not prevent 'an institutional race' from absorbing one which has no accretive principle of growth. It is thought, as we write, that during the week preceding July 4th, _seventy thousand_ of the Secession army perished! They are exhausting, annihilating themselves; and by whom will the vacancy be filled? Not by the children of States which, under the old system, fell behindhand in population. By whom, then? By Northern men and European emigrants, of course.

But European intervention? If Louis Napoleon wants to keep his crown--if England wishes Europe to remain quiet--if they both dread our good friend Russia, who in event of a war would 'annex,' for aught we can see, all Austria and an illimitable share of the East--if they wish to avoid such an upstirring, riot, and infernal carnival of revolution as the world never saw--they will let us alone.

The London _Herald_ declares that 'America is a nuisance among nations!' When they undertake to meddle with us, they will find us one. We would not leave them a ship on the sea or a seaboard town un-ruined. The whole world would wail one wild ruin, and there should be the smoke as of nations, when despotism should dare to lay its hand on the sacred cause of freedom. For we of the North are living and dying in that cause which never yet went backward, and we shall prevail, though the powers of all Europe and all the powers of darkness should ally against us. Let them come. They do but bring grapes to the wine-press of the Lord; and it will be a bloody vintage which will be pressed forth in that day, as the great cause goes marching on.

* * * * *

Let no one imagine that our military draft has been one whit too great. Our great folly hitherto has been to underrate the power of the enemy. In the South every male who can bear arms is now either bearing them or otherwise directly aiding the rebellion. When the sheriffs of every county in the seceding States made their returns to their Secretary of War, they reported one million four hundred thousand men capable of bearing arms. And they have the arms and will use them. It is 'an united rising of the people,' such as the world has seldom seen.

But then it is _all_ they can do--it is the last card and the _last_ man, and if we make one stupendous effort, we must inevitably crush it. There is no other course--it is drag or be dragged, hammer or anvil now. If we do not beat _them_ thoroughly and completely, they will make us rue the day that ever we were born.

The South is stronger than we thought, and its unity and ferocity add to its strength. It will never be conciliated--it must be crushed. When we have gained the victory, we can be what our foes never were to us--generous and merciful.

* * * * *

A GENTLEMAN of Massachusetts, who has held a position in McClellan's army that gave him an opportunity to know whereof he speaks, states that for weeks, while the army on the Peninsula were in a grain-growing country, surrounded by fields of wheat and oats belonging to well-known rebels, the Commissary Department was not allowed to turn its cattle into a rich pasturage of young grain, from the fear of offending the absent rebel owners, or of using in any way the property of Our Southern Brethren in arms against us. The result was, that the cattle kept with the army for the use of our hard-worked soldiers, were penned up, and half-starved on the forage carried in the regular subsistence trains, and the men got mere skin and bones for beef.

* * * * *

So endeth the month. The rest with the next. But may we, in conclusion, beg sundry kind correspondents to have patience? Time is scant with us, and labor fast and hard. Our editorial friends who have kindly cheered us by applauding 'the outspoken and straightforward young magazine,' will accept our most grateful thanks. It has seldom happened to any journal to be so genially and _warmly_ commended as we have been since our entrance on the stormy field of political discussion.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 6: The _dingo_, or native dog of Australia, looks like a cross between the fox or wolf and the shepherd-dog; they generally hunt in packs, and destroy great numbers of sheep. I have never eaten one.]

THE

CONTINENTAL MONTHLY

THE CONTINENTAL MONTHLY has passed its experimental ordeal, and stands firmly established in popular regard. It was started at a period when any new literary enterprise was deemed almost foolhardy, but the publisher believed that the time had arrived for just such a Magazine. Fearlessly advocating the doctrine of ultimate and gradual Emancipation, for the sake of the UNION and the WHITE MAN, it has found favor in quarters where censure was expected, and patronage where opposition only was looked for. While holding firmly to its _own opinions_, it has opened its pages to POLITICAL WRITERS _of widely different views_, and has made a feature of employing the literary labors of the _younger_ race of American writers. How much has been gained by thus giving, practically, the fullest freedom to the expression of opinion, and by the infusion of fresh blood into literature, has been felt from month to month in its constantly increasing circulation.

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WAS HE SUCCESSFUL?

An account of the Life and Conduct of Hiram Meeker, one of the leading men in the mercantile community, and 'a bright and shining light' in the Church, recounting what he did, and how he made his money. This work excels the previous brilliant productions of this author. In the present number is also commenced a new Serial by the author of 'Among the Pines,' entitled.

A MERCHANT'S STORY,

which will depict Southern _white_ society, and be a truthful history of some eminent Northern merchants who are largely in 'the cotton trade and sugar line.'

The UNION--The Union of ALL THE STATES--that indicates our politics. To be content with no ground lower than the highest--that is the standard of our literary character.

We hope all who are friendly to the spread of our political views, and all who are favorable to the diffusion of a live, fresh, and energetic literature, will lend us their aid to increase our circulation. There is not one of our readers who may not influence one or two more, and there is in every town in the loyal States some active person whose time might be justifiably employed in procuring subscribers to our work. To encourage such to act for us we offer the following very liberal

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* * * * *

~EQUAL TO ANY IN THE WORLD!!!~

MAY BE PROCURED

~At FROM $8 to $12 PER ACRE,~

Near Markets, Schools, Railroads, Churches, and all the blessings of Civilization.

1,200,000 Acres, in Farms of 40, 80, 120, 160 Acres and upwards, in ILLINOIS, the Garden State of America.

* * * * *

The Illinois Central Railroad Company offer, ON LONG CREDIT, the beautiful and fertile PRAIRIE LANDS lying along the whole line of their Railroad. 700 MILES IN LENGTH, upon the most Favorable Terms for enabling Farmers, Manufacturers, Mechanics and Workingmen to make for themselves and their families a competency, and a HOME they can call THEIR OWN, as will appear from the following statements:

ILLINOIS.

Is about equal in extent to England, with a population of 1,722,666, and a soil capable of supporting 20,000,000. No State in the Valley of the Mississippi offers so great an inducement to the settler as the State of Illinois. There is no part of the world where all the conditions of climate and soil so admirably combine to produce those two great staples, CORN and WHEAT.

CLIMATE.

Nowhere can the Industrious farmer secure such immediate results from his labor as on these deep, rich, loamy soils, cultivated with so much ease. The climate from the extreme southern part of the State to the Terre Haute, Alton and St. Louis Railroad, a distance of nearly 200 miles, is well adapted to Winter.

WHEAT, CORN, COTTON, TOBACCO.

Peaches, Pears, Tomatoes, and every variety of fruit and vegetables is grown in great abundance, from which Chicago and other Northern markets are furnished from four to six weeks earlier than their immediate vicinity. Between the Terre Haute, Alton & St. Louis Railway and the Kankakee and Illinois Rivers, (a distance of 115 miles on the Branch, and 136 miles on the Main Trunk,) lies the great Corn and Stock raising portion of the State.

THE ORDINARY YIELD

of Corn is from 60 to 80 bushels per acre. Cattle, Horses, Mules, Sheep and Hogs are raised here at a small cost, and yield large profits. It is believed that no section of country presents greater inducements for Dairy Farming than the Prairies of Illinois, a branch of farming to which but little attention has been paid, and which must yield sure profitable results. Between the Kankakee and Illinois Rivers, and Chicago and Dunleith, (a distance of 56 miles on the Branch and 147 miles by the Main Trunk,) Timothy Hay, Spring Wheat, Corn, &c., are produced in great abundance.

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.

The Agricultural products of Illinois are greater than those of any other State. The Wheat crop of 1861 was estimated at 35,000,000 bushels, while the Corn crop yields not less than 140,000,000 bushels besides the crop of Oats, Barley, Rye, Buckwheat, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Pumpkins, Squashes, Flax, Hemp, Peas, Clover, Cabbage, Beets, Tobacco, Sorgheim, Grapes, Peaches, Apples, &c., which go to swell the vast aggregate of production in this fertile region. Over Four Million tons of produce were sent out the State of Illinois during the past year.

STOCK RAISING.

In Central and Southern Illinois uncommon advantages are presented for the extension of Stock raising. All kinds of Cattle, Horses, Mules, Sheep, Hogs, &c., of the best breeds, yield handsome profits; large fortunes have already been made, and the field is open for others to enter with the fairest prospects of like results. Dairy Farming also presents its inducements to many.

CULTIVATION OF COTTON.

The experiments in Cotton culture are of very great promise. Commencing in latitude 39 deg. 30 min. (see Mattoon on the Branch, and Assumption on the Main Line), the Company owns thousands of acres well adapted to the perfection of this fibre. A settler having a family of young children, can turn their youthful labor to a most profitable account in the growth and perfection of this plant.

THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD

Traverses the whole length of the State, from the banks of the Mississippi and Lake Michigan to the Ohio. As its name imports, the Railroad runs through the centre of the State, and on either side of the road along its whole length lie the lands offered for sale.

CITIES, TOWNS, MARKETS, DEPOTS.

There are Ninety-eight Depots on the Company's Railway, giving about one every seven miles. Cities, Towns and Villages are situated at convenient distances throughout the whole route, where every desirable commodity may be found as readily as in the oldest cities of the Union, and where buyers are to be met for all kinds of farm produce.

EDUCATION.

Mechanics and working-men will find the free school system encouraged by the State, and endowed with a large revenue for the support of the schools. Children can live in sight of the school, the college, the church, and grow up with the prosperity of the leading State in the Great Western Empire.

* * * * *

PRICES AND TERMS OF PAYMENT--ON LONG CREDIT.

80 acres at $10 per acre, with interest at 6 per ct. annually
on the following terms:

Cash payment $48 00

Payment in one year 48 00
" in two years 48 00
" in three years 48 00
" in four years 236 00
" in five years 224 00
" in six years 212 00

40 acres, at $10 00 per acre:

Cash payment $24 00

Payment in one year 24 00
" in two years 24 00
" in three years 24 00
" in four years 118 00
" in five years 112 00
" in six years 106 00

* * * * *

Number 10 25 Cents.

The

Continental

Monthly

Devoted To Literature and National Policy.

OCTOBER, 1862.

NEW-YORK AND BOSTON: J. R. GILMORE, 532 BROADWAY, NEW-YORK, AND 110 TREMONT STREET, BOSTON. NEW-YORK: HENRY DEXTER AND SINCLAIR TOUSEY. PHILADELPHIA: T. B. CALLENDER AND A. WINCH.

CONTENTS.--No. X.

The Constitution as it Is--The Union as it Was! C. S. Henry, LL.D., 377
Maccaroni and Canvas. Henry P. Leland, 383
Sir John Suckling, 397
London Fogs and London Poor, 404
A Military Nation. Charles G. Leland, 413
Tom Winter's Story. Geo. W. Chapman, 416
The White Hills in October. Miss C. M. Sedgwick, 423
Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-Two, U. S. Johnson, 442
Flower-Arranging, 444
Southern Hate of the North. Horace Greeley, 448
A Merchant's Story. Edmund Kirke, 451
The Union. Hon. Robert J. Walker, 457
Our Wounded. C. K. Tuckerman, 465
A Southern Review. Charles G. Leland, 466
Was He Successful? Richard B. Kimball, 470
Literary Notices, 478
Editor's Table, 481

ANNOUNCEMENT.

The Proprietors of THE CONTINENTAL MONTHLY, warranted by its great success, have resolved to increase its influence and usefulness by the following changes:

The Magazine has become the property of an association of men of character and large means. Devoted to the NATIONAL CAUSE, it will ardently and unconditionally support the UNION. Its scope will be enlarged by articles relating to our public defenses, Army and Navy, gunboats, railroads, canals, finance, and currency. The cause of gradual emancipation and colonization will be cordially sustained. The literary character of the Magazine will be improved, and nothing which talent, money, and industry combined can achieve, will be omitted.

The political department will be controlled by Hon. ROBERT J. WALKER and Hon. FREDERIC P. STANTON, of Washington, D.C. Mr. WALKER, after serving nine years as Senator, and four years as Secretary of the Treasury, was succeeded in the Senate by JEFFERSON DAVIS. Mr. STANTON served ten years in Congress, acting as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and of Naval Affairs. Mr. WALKER was succeeded as Governor of Kansas by Mr. STANTON, and both were displaced by Mr. BUCHANAN, for refusing to force slavery upon that people by fraud and forgery. The literary department of the Magazine will be under the control of CHARLES GODFREY LELAND of Boston, and EDMUND KIRKE of New-York. Mr. LELAND is the present accomplished Editor of the Magazine. Mr. KIRKE is one of its constant contributors, but better known as the author of 'Among the Pines' the great picture true to life, of Slavery as it is.

THE CONTINENTAL, while retaining all the old corps of writers, who have given it so wide a circulation, will be reinforced by new contributors, greatly distinguished as statesmen, scholars, and savans.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by JAMES R. GILMORE, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New-York.